Homeless people are terrorizing supermarket employees in downtown Nizhny Novgorod.

      October 5, 2025 13:05 Incidents: Homeless people terrorize supermarket employees in central Nizhny Novgorod, a reader of NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" reported.

      According to her, three men without a fixed place of residence, who were intoxicated, constantly enter the Magnit store at 5 Gagarin Avenue. They have no money, but they are eager to take advantage of others.

      "They brazenly approach shoppers and persistently demand small change. People try to move away to avoid contact with them. In the end the trio simply steals what they need and leaves," the Nizhny Novgorod woman said.

      According to her, the shop employees are tired of fighting the offenders.

      "They threaten to call the police every time, but those threats don't work on the homeless. Poor shop employees! They then have to pay out of their own pockets for these scoundrels!" our interlocutor complained.

      Another incident occurred on the evening of October 3. According to witnesses, one of the men hid a bottle of alcohol under his clothing. When the cashier tried to stop him, he shoved the woman and she fell.

      "Everything happened so fast! It was terrifying and upsetting for the woman. The three left with an unpaid bottle. And there's no way to deal with them!" the reader said, adding that when they went out onto the street the intoxicated men tried to start a brawl there too.

      An NIA correspondent visited the store and asked why the employees don't call law enforcement.

      "The police will arrive and there won't be any trace of them. What's the point? You should also go to the Pyaterochka next door — they operate there too, you wouldn't believe it," the cashier replied.

      After a pause the woman added: "Are you going to write about this? Better write about the people who stood in line and didn't even defend me. That's what you should write about!"

      It turned out that this trio of intoxicated homeless people constantly loiters in the nearby yards: they make noise, litter, fight among themselves and show aggression toward local residents.

      "They used to drink right on the children's playground until we removed the benches. There's no peace because of them! And calls to the police are useless: at best they'll arrive in a few hours, at worst they'll ignore it altogether," shared a resident of building No. 3 on Gagarin Avenue.

      According to her, the criminal situation in the yards is exacerbated by a store where, in violation of Russian law, alcohol is sold around the clock.

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